The empirical formula for ibandronate sodium is C9H22NO7P2Na•H2O. The chemical name of ibandronate sodium is (1-hydroxy-3-(N-methyl-N-pentylamino)propylidene) bisphosphonic acid monosodium salt. The chemical structure of ibandronate sodium is the following:

The chemical structure of ibandronic acid (IBD-Ac) is the following:

Ibandronate sodium is a third-generation nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate characterized by an aliphatic tertiary amine side chain. Ibandronate sodium is a white powder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,814 discloses diphosphonic acid derivatives, processes for the preparation thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions containing them.
Boniva® (ibandronate sodium) was developed by Hoffmann-La Roche for the treatment of bone disorders such as hypercalcaemia of malignancy, osteolysis, Paget's disease, osteoporosis, and metastatic bone disease. It is available as an intravenous injection administered every 2-3 months and as an oral formulation.
Boniva® is also marketed in Europe under the name Bondronat® for cancer-related bone complications. Bondronat® is available in ampoule with 1 ml concentrate for solution for infusion contains 1.125 mg of ibandronic monosodium salt monohydrate, corresponding to 1 mg of ibandronic acid.
The present invention relates to the solid state physical properties of ibandronate sodium. These properties can be influenced by controlling the conditions under which ibandronate sodium is obtained in solid form. Solid state physical properties include, for example, the flowability of the milled solid. Flowability affects the ease with which the material is handled during processing into a pharmaceutical product. When particles of the powdered compound do not flow past each other easily, a formulation specialist must necessitate the use of glidants such as colloidal silicon dioxide, talc, starch, or tribasic calcium phosphate.
Another important solid state property of a pharmaceutical compound is its rate of dissolution in aqueous fluid. The rate of dissolution of an active ingredient in a patient's stomach fluid can have therapeutic consequences since it imposes an upper limit on the rate at which an orally-administered active ingredient can reach the patient's bloodstream. The rate of dissolution is also a consideration in formulation syrups, elixirs, and other liquid medicaments. The solid state form of a compound can also affect its behavior on compaction and its storage stability.
These practical physical characteristics are influenced by the conformation and orientation of molecules in the unit cell, which define a particular polymorphic form of a substance. The polymorphic form can give rise to thermal behavior different from that of the amorphous material or another polymorphic form. Thermal behavior is measured in the laboratory by such techniques as capillary melting point, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and can be used to distinguish some polymorphic forms from others. A particular polymorphic form can also give rise to distinct spectroscopic properties that can be detectable by powder x-ray crystallography, solid state 13C NMR spectrometry, and infrared spectrometry.
Generally, the crystalline solid has improved chemical and physical stability over the amorphous form, and forms with low crystallinity. They can also exhibit improved solubility, hygroscopicity, bulk properties, and/or flowability.
The discovery of new polymorphic forms of a pharmaceutically useful compound provides a new opportunity to improve the performance characteristics of a pharmaceutical product. It enlarges the repertoire of materials that a formulation scientist has available for designing, for example, a pharmaceutical dosage form of a drug with a targeted release profile or other desired characteristic. There is a need in the art for additional polymorphic forms of ibandronate sodium.